Rangers reel in sixth straight series
Associated Press
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers rookie Robbie Ross makes his way to the bullpen before each game wearing a kiddie cowboy vest and hat while carrying a pink backpack and plush stuffed horse.
There’s nothing kid-like about the way the 22-year-old left-hander is pitching.
Ross worked 2 2-3 perfect innings in relief for his AL-best fourth victory and the Rangers beat the New York Yankees 7-3 on Wednesday night, winning their sixth consecutive series to start a season for the first time in franchise history.
“He’s doing the job, he has no fear, he throws the ball over the plate,” manager Ron Washington said.
As for the two-time defending American League champion Rangers (15-4) having the best record in the majors, Washington said, “We’re just playing complete baseball.”
Adrian Beltre hit one of the Rangers’ three homers and a pair of RBI singles. Mile Napoli and Mitch Moreland also homered.
After Scott Feldman gave up two runs in 3 1-3 innings of a spot start, Ross retired all eight batters he faced with two strikeouts.
The Rangers said Ross (4-0) is the first pitcher in the majors since at least 1918 to earn four relief wins in his first six career appearances. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in his eight innings, either.
“I didn’t expect anything like this,” said Ross, who wasn’t even really in the team’s plans for this season until an impressive spring.
Ross is getting noticed for more than the cowboy get-up put together by veteran pitchers that he has to put on before each game to walk from the dugout to the bullpen.
“I’m totally fine with that as long as I can be here,” he said. “I’m just enjoying it so far, soaking it all in and trying to remember what’s going good right now.”
Texas was ahead to stay after Beltre led off the second against Phil Hughes (1-3) with his third homer, a 441-foot drive that landed high on the grassy hill in straightaway center field. Beltre’s first run-scoring single came an inning later when Texas added three more runs.
“We believe he can do it and I know he believes he can do, but right now sometimes the ball runs back a little bit, he leaves the curveball up a little bit. Cutter sometimes isn’t getting where he wants it,” manager Joe Girardi said of Hughes. “It is frustrating, but you have to keep working at it.”
Hughes was gone after hitting the next batter, though the inside pitch only skimmed the wind-blown jersey of Nelson Cruz, who didn’t seem to realize what had happened until home plate umpire Brian Runge stepped out and pointed toward first base.
The Rangers have won 12 consecutive regular season series overall, dating back to last year.
New York had won six road games in a row after their 7-4 victory in the series opener at Texas. But the Yankees have now lost consecutive games for the first time since getting swept in three games at Tampa Bay to start the season.
Derek Jeter had two more hits, extending his hitting streak to 16 games. He raised his average to .420 and his majors-leading hits total to 34.
Napoli led off the fourth with his seventh homer. That came off David Phelps, who gave up a leadoff shot to Moreland two innings later before Beltre had another RBI single.
Raul Ibanez drove in two runs for the Yankees, including a solo homer that landed deep in the second deck of seats in right field off Neftali Feliz to start the seventh.
Feliz, the closer-turned-No. 5 starter, pitched an inning of relief since the Rangers are skipping his turn in the rotation since his scheduled day to pitch was Thursday.
It was the first relief appearance for Feliz since his blown save in Game 6 of the World Series, when Texas was twice within a strike of a championship-clinching victory before losing.
Texas led 4-0 after 2 2-3 innings against Hughes, whose season ERA increased from 6.75 to 7.88. The big right-hander allowed five hits, struck out two and then hit two batters in his last inning.
Hughes had allowed only three hits in 15 1-3 scoreless innings his previous three regular-season appearances against Texas — all at Rangers Ballpark. His first major league victory came there in May 2007, when he threw 6 1-3 scoreless innings in his second major league start.
But there were also those two AL championship series games in Texas since, when Hughes allowed 11 runs in 8 2-3 innings to lose both in 2010.
“Something has to change. I just have to keep working hard. That’s all I can do. I feel good with the stuff I’m throwing,” Hughes said. “Every outing like this is disappointing. It’s tough to deal with, you just hope things get better before they get worse.”
RED SOX 7, TWINS 6’
MINNEAPOLIS — Mike Aviles homered and the Boston Red Sox bullpen just barely avoided another big collapse in a victory over Minnesota.
Alfredo Aceves struck out Denard Span with the bases loaded in the ninth inning for his fourth save in six chances as the Red Sox completed the sweep.
Dustin Pedroia tripled, doubled and singled for the Red Sox. The Twins have dropped five in a row.
Clay Buchholz (2-1) had another shaky outing for the Red Sox, giving up five runs on 10 hits with three walks in 5 1-3 innings.
The Red Sox led 7-1 after five innings, but their beleaguered bullpen was able to hang on with 3 2-3 scoreless innings of relief. Last Saturday, Boston blew a 9-0 lead against the Yankees.
Liam Hendriks (0-1) gave up seven runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings.
MARINERS 9, TIGERS 1
DETROIT — Felix Hernandez allowed only a run in seven innings, rookie Alex Liddi hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners went on to beat the slumping Detroit Tigers.
Hernandez (2-1) gave up a solo homer to Brennan Boesch in the third and not much else. The right-hander yielded four hits and three walks, giving all of the free passes in the first.
Adam Wilk (0-3) allowed six runs and eight hits in just two-plus innings. The rookie gave up just two runs in each of his first two starts.
The Tigers have lost five of six after starting 9-3. Seattle has won two straight after losing four in a row.
RAYS 3, ANGELS 2
Jeremy Hellickson overcame early struggles to pitch six effective innings and Ben Zobrist homered.
Hellickson (3-0), who held Los Angeles hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position through the second, allowed one run and five hits. Zobrist hit a solo shot off C.J. Wilson (2-2) during a two-run third.
Albert Pujols went 0 for 3, including two strikeouts, extending his hitless streak to 19 at-bats. The Angels slugger has not had a hit in five consecutive starts, which is the longest stretch in his big league career, but did walk in the eighth.
Pujols, with 445 homers, has not gone deep in 18 games this season, a span of 72 at-bats.
ROYALS 8, INDIANS 2
CLEVELAND — Billy Butler hit two of Kansas City’s four home runs to help the Royals snap a 12-game losing streak.
Butler’s two-run blast off Ubaldo Jimenez (2-1) put the Royals ahead in the first. He added a solo shot in the ninth off reliever Jairo Asencio, following Alex Gordon’s three-run homer against the reliever.
Eric Hosmer’s two-run shot in the fifth made it 4-0 — the Royals’ largest lead since April 8, when they beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3.
Luke Hochevar (2-1) allowed four hits and two runs over 6 1-3 innings, recovering from a horrendous home opener start April 13 when he gave up seven runs in the first inning of an 8-3 loss to Cleveland.
ORIOLES 3, BLUE JAYS 0
BALTIMORE — Jason Hammel pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, Wilson Betemit and Chris Davis homered.
After limiting Toronto to one run on Tuesday, Baltimore became the first team this season to shut out the Blue Jays. The Orioles are 4-1 against Toronto after going 6-12 last year.
Hammel (3-0) struck out seven and walked one in lowering his ERA to 1.73 over four starts. The right-hander came to Baltimore in February with reliever Matt Lindstrom in the trade that sent Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado.
Lindstrom worked a perfect eighth and Pedro Strop got three outs for his second save in two nights as the replacement for closer Jim Johnson, who has been hospitalized since Monday with flulike symptoms.
ATHLETICS 5, WHITE SOX 4, 14 INNINGS
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kila Ka’aihue blooped a winning single in the 14th inning soon after Yoenis Cespedes’ tying two-run homer.
Cespedes delivered his fifth homer of the season against Hector Santiago (0-1) after Chicago took the lead in the top half. Then Ka’aihue came through with one out in a game that lasted 3 hours, 56 minutes.
Jim Miller (1-0) struck out Brent Lillibridge for his first major league win after being called up earlier in the day.
Alexei Ramirez hit a go-ahead two-run double with two outs in the top of the 14th.
Paul Konerko hit his 400th career home run to tie the game at 2 in the Chicago ninth.
Wright becomes Mets’ career RBI leader
NEW YORK — David Wright hit a two-run homer to become the Mets’ career RBIs leader, R.A. Dickey outpitched Mark Buehrle in a crafty duel Wednesday night and New York beat the Miami Marlins 5-1.
The Marlins have lost four in a row, scoring only four runs in the skid. Jose Reyes singled in the eighth inning for his first hit against his former team in eight at-bats, eliciting yet another chorus of lusty boos from the crowd that once adored him.
Wright’s homer gave him 735 RBIs and broke a tie with Darryl Strawberry for the team lead.
In contrast to the matchup of aces Johan Santana and Josh Johnson on Tuesday night that the Mets ended up winning 2-1, Dickey (3-1) and Buehrle (1-3) rarely reached 85 mph on the scoreboard radar.
NATIONALS 7, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO — Jordan Zimmermann helped Washington set a team record for the longest scoreless innings streak for starters before Orlando Hudson homered and the NL East-leading Nationals beat San Diego.
Zimmermann (1-1) held San Diego without a run for four innings to give Washington starters 26 straight scoreless frames. Tom Gorzelanny got his first save.
The Nationals (14-4) won their fourth straight and are off to their best 18-game start since coming to Washington in 2005. They’ve won all six series this year.
Rookie Joe Wieland (0-3) took the loss.
CARDINALS 5, CUBS 1
CHICAGO — David Freese homered and Lance Lynn threw eight strong innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over Chicago.
Lynn (4-0) held the Cubs to six hits in becoming the first four-game winner in the majors and helping the Cardinals avoid a three-game sweep.
Freese’s two-run shot in the sixth capped a three-run, two-out rally against starter Chris Volstad (0-3). Freese added an RBI double in the eighth.
PHILLIES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX — Cole Hamels pitched eight strong innings and also hit a two-run single as the Philadelphia Phillies beat Arizona.
Hamels (3-1) gave up a leadoff double to Willie Bloomquist in the first, then retired the next 18 batters.
The left-hander allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out seven, including his final three hitters.
The Diamondbacks have lost seven of nine. Trevor Cahill (1-2) gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1-3 innings.
REDS 4, GIANTS 2
CINCINNATI — Scott Rolen’s homer started a four-run rally in the seventh inning that swept the Cincinnati Reds to a win and extended San Francisco’s misery at Great American Ball Park.
Rolen’s first homer since July 6 ended Barry Zito’s shutout and got into the Giants’ bullpen. Clay Hensley (1-2) threw wildly for an error after slipping as he fielded a bunt and Jeremy Affeldt’s wild pitch allowed the go-ahead run to score.
It was another miserable game for the Giants at Great American, where they’ve dropped seven straight and 12 of 16.
Jose Arredondo (2-0) had one perfect inning. Sean Marshall pitched the ninth and remained perfect in four save tries. The Reds have won five of their last six overall.
ASTROS 7, BREWERS 5
MILWAUKEE — Jose Altuve had a career-best four hits and J.D. Martinez had three hits and three RBIs as the Houston Astros ended their 11-game losing streak to Milwaukee.
Chris Snyder put the Astros ahead for good at 5-4 with an RBI single in the seventh off Jose Veras (2-1) after Brian Bogusevic doubled and stole third.
Wilton Lopez (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 sixth, and Brett Myers got three outs for his third save.
ROCKIES 2, PIRATES 1, 1ST GAME
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 1, 2ND GAME
PITTSBURGH — Pedro Alvarez hit his second home run of the day, Charlie Morton pitched seven solid innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Colorado to split a doubleheader.
Alvarez helped Pittsburgh’s tepid offense tie a season high in runs in the second game, hitting a solo shot off Jhoulys Chacin (0-2) to cap a five-run fifth.
Morton (1-1) benefited from an offense that broke out of a season-long slump, at least for an inning.
In the opener, Colorado broke up James McDonald’s no-hit bid in the seventh. Matt Reynolds (2-0) won in relief and Rafael Betancourt worked the ninth for his sixth save.
Chris Resop (0-2) lost after relieving McDonald in the eighth.
Pittsburgh set a major league record by playing its 18th straight game starting the season in which neither team scored more than five runs, surpassing the standard set by the 1943 Detroit Tigers.
BRAVES 4, DODGERS 2
LOS ANGELES — Chipper Jones singled home the go-ahead run in his final regular season at-bat at Dodger Stadium after Dan Uggla tied it with his second RBI single earlier in the ninth inning to lead Atlanta.
Dodgers closer Javy Guerra (1-3) lost for the third time in his last five apprarances after giving up five consecutive one-out hits in the ninth. The second one was a liner that ricocheted off his face, but manager Don Mattingly kept the right-hander in there and he surrendered RBI singles to Uggla, Jones and Jason Heyward.
Jonny Venters (2-0) struck out the side in the 8th inning and Craig Kimbrell got the last three outs for his seventh save.
Matt Kemp tied a Dodgers franchise record for April with his 10th home run.
